I didn't sleep that night. Not because the haunted tower groaned like it was trying to cough up a ghost, or because some cursed floor tile kept whispering the name "Gregor" every ten minutes but because I couldn't stop thinking about the cage.
About the kid I left behind.
I kept seeing his face. Blank. Not confused or angry. Just… blank. Like even he knew better than to expect rescue from someone like me.
The system rewarded me, of course. Gave me a helpful +300 Evil Points for "psychological cruelty" and "missed opportunity for mercy." It even unlocked some twisted strategic paths I hadn't asked for.
I didn't look at those paths. Not yet.
Instead, I stood on the crumbling balcony of my lair and stared at the black horizon of the Gloomwood. Somewhere beyond those trees, House Valdris slept in velvet sheets and woke to the sound of servants and blood money.
And I had to make them fall.
Not just fall break. Publicly. Loudly. Permanently. I didn't want to burn the world. Just… carve out a space where people like them couldn't touch kids like that again.
That meant thinking bigger.
[Skill Unlocked: Mastermind Lv.1]
Trait: Allows long-term schemes with layered objectives and flexible outcomes.
Bonus: +50 Evil Points (Passive)
New System Feature: HEIST MODULE – Activated
Design and execute long-term operations with villainous flair. Failure has consequences. Success has... options.
I let out a breath and pulled out the enchanted map I'd stolen off a half-eaten corpse in the tower's basement. The map pulsed with faint light, revealing the surrounding areas—Duskmoor village, Valdris estate, trade routes, watchposts, weak points in the old roads.
The pieces were all here. I just had to fit them together like a puzzle designed by a sadist.
Step one: Create a persona.
I couldn't be Lucien Malhart anymore. Not around Valdris, not in Duskmoor, not anywhere they might have eyes. I'd need a mask—someone clever, useful, forgettable.
"Alaric Vale," I muttered. "Traveling apothecary. Minor healing magic. Witty. Unassuming. Smells faintly of herbs and poor decisions."
I practiced the voice. Calm, curious, just a little pompous. A man with no enemies and too much time. Someone who could sit at a table with devils and take notes.
Step two: Lay the trap.
Valdris's power came from wealth, reputation, and fear. But fear is brittle if you hit it right. I didn't want to steal their gold—I wanted to make them give it away. To tear each other apart trying to survive a scandal they couldn't see coming.
If I could get the nobles paranoid… make them suspect betrayal… make them distrust their own blood…
No. Not if. When.
Step three: Make it look like villainy.
The irony hurt. I'd spent my whole life trying to be good. To help. To matter.
Now, for people to believe this plan, they had to think I was everything they feared. A shadow in the night. A curse in human skin. A villain.
And maybe I was starting to believe it, too.
[System Alert: Current Magic Core – 5% Stabilized]
Note: You are still operating on borrowed system mana.
Embodiment Seal not yet triggered.
Magic Type Prediction: Undetermined
Current Vice Trajectory: Deceit, Obsession, Guilt
Current Virtue Trajectory: None Detected
[System Alert: Current Magic Core – 5% Stabilized]
Note: You are still operating on borrowed system mana.
Embodiment Seal not yet triggered.
Magic Type Prediction: Undetermined
Current Vice Trajectory: Deceit, Obsession, Guilt
Current Virtue Trajectory: None Detected
I blinked at that last line.
None?
Not even… loyalty? Mercy? The system had to be wrong. Or blind. Or just lying to keep me locked in this role.
"Not permanent," I muttered. "Not yet."
My power hadn't awakened. Which meant it could still change.
…Right?
I stared at the map again, sketching ideas into the margins. Secret tunnels beneath the Valdris crypt. Rumors of an ancient vault under the estate. A corrupt steward who liked to drink himself stupid near the docks.
The outlines of the heist took shape slowly, like a bruise spreading beneath the skin of the world.
Discredit the family. Ruin their public face.Expose their crimes. Use their own system to drag them down.Then vanish before they know who held the knife.
The cruelty wasn't in the plan. Not really. It was just… necessary. Like cutting off a limb to stop the infection.
Still, the weight of it pressed on my chest.
I remembered the kid again. The cage. His voice.
He'd asked for help.
And I'd walked away.
Maybe I'd go back later. When it was safer. When it meant something. When I could do more than just get both of us killed.
Maybe.
[New Objective Added: Operation Silver Veil]
Goal: Orchestrate the downfall of House Valdris via social, financial, and magical disruption.
Recommended Timeline: 2–4 weeks
Risk Level: Catastrophic
Evil Points Projected: +2,000 (minimum)
Heroic Reputation Loss: -80%
Civilian Impact: High
[Evil Points Total: 635]
[Viewer Count: 128,202]
[Top Comment: Dude thinks he's the master manipulator]
[Narrative Instability: Low – Mask Holding Steady]